As part of the whole-of-city approach to create a sustainable future for all, the Quezon City Government has partnered with C40 Cities and Minecraft Education to launch a Minecraft Education Challenge for QC-based schools and students.

The QC Minecraft Challenge was initiated by the QC Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department (CCESD) as part of the Schools Reinventing Cities program, a collaboration between C40’s Reinventing Cities and Minecraft Education. The program gives students an opportunity to design climate solutions for their city in  Minecraft Education, a game-based learning platform,  and to present their ideas to city leaders. 

“Through this challenge, we hope to empower our youth by mining their valuable ideas for the development of our city. We will continue to foster our student’s creativity and critical thinking and engage them in our environmental efforts as we head towards our vision of building a liveable, sustainable, and climate-resilient city,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities, said “We can’t create a green future without the ideas and leadership of young people. Schools Reinventing Cities offers a unique, engaging opportunity for young people around the world to learn about science-based city climate actions. Sharing their best and boldest ideas with their teachers, school mates and policy makers, students can help reinvent their city. C40 Cities is thrilled to work with Minecraft Education and Mayor Belmonte to bring the competition to Quezon City. I’m really looking forward to seeing students’ ideas to increase urban biodiversity, promote sustainable mobility and improve public health.”

According to Allison Matthews, Head of Minecraft Education, “the  Schools Reinventing Cities partnership with  C40, Mayor Joy Belmonte and  Minecraft will empower students to invent sustainable solutions for a more eco-friendly Quezon City and showcase their vision for the city they aspire to live in. The remarkable creativity and passion for sustainability will undoubtedly inspire leaders and pave the way for students to innovate, create, and contribute to a brighter Quezon City. We can’t wait to see the innovative solutions they will come up with!”

Using Minecraft Education, students selected by their schools will create solutions to help reimagine, reconfigure, and revitalize city roads. Teams will design and build climate actions feasible for Quezon City such as expanding green spaces and the green corridor network; enhancing sustainable mobility; and  improving air quality.

The students will have the opportunity to build solutions that will transform and enhance urban biodiversity, promote sustainable mobility, and improve public health on any of the following roads: White Plains Avenue, Agham Road, and Belfast Avenue.

Interested Quezon City public and private schools may register and join the challenge until May 29, 2023. Schools have to form a team of three to six members within the same grade level categories including Grades 4-6, Junior High School, and Senior High School.

For schools to participate in this challenge, a teacher who will serve as the School Minecraft Education moderator must register the team. Only the duly authorized Minecraft Education moderator  may fill out the challenge participation registration form on behalf of their students. All necessary documents and resources may be found at https://qc-c40-minecraftchallenge.quezoncity.gov.ph/.

After downloading Minecraft Education, the students can access the Schools Reinventing Quezon City Minecraft World where special Non-player characters (NPC) await them. These NPCs – which include Mayor Belmonte, Vice Mayor Gian Sotto, C40 Cities Executive Director Mark Watts, and other city officials and QCitizens from different sectors – will give information about the topics in the challenge as they explore the world.

Submitted entries will be judged per category. Five teams with the highest scores from each category will be selected to personally showcase their outputs to the City Mayor and other key officials of Quezon City. Best Pitch, Most Innovative, and Most Impactful citations will also be given.

The winners from each category will also receive prizes. Overall Team Champion from each classification will receive P30,000; Team Champion Moderator with P15,000; and Team Champion School with P15,000.

Winners of the QC Minecraft Challenge will be announced during the QC Hall Flag Raising Ceremony in July.

For more information about the challenge, visit https://qc-c40-minecraftchallenge.quezoncity.gov.ph/ or the Quezon City Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department Official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/qc.climatechangedepartment/).